Here is a delicious vegetarian pasta recipe I made recently using my favorite food of summer — tomatoes!  I had some beautiful heirloom cherry tomatoes that I used.  Roasting them only intensified their wonderful flavor!  I would have enjoyed the tomato – caper – breadcrumb mixture on its own but it was even tastier when mixed with penne and Romano cheese.

Sorry about the lack of photos — I left my good camera in the Berkshires so I will be short on photos for a while.

Pasta Ponza
Giada de Laurentiis

• Butter for greasing
• 2 cups (12 ounces) red cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups (12 ounces) yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 pound ziti or other short tube-shaped pasta
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 ounces) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

Place the tomatoes, capers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the prepared baking dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the tomato mixture. Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for 5 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta. Add the cheese and toss well. Thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

As my due date approaches, I am definitely slowing down a bit so I am on the hunt for some easy weeknight meals.  Tim and I both love pesto of any sort so when I saw this super simple Giada de Laurentiis recipe the other day I decided it was perfect for “Meatless Monday”.  This is a great recipe because, other than the fresh basil, you could easily have everything in your pantry.

The pesto was delicious — so packed with flavor it is hard to believe that there are only 5 ingredients in it.  Tim and I gobbled it up!

This recipe is also great for weeknight entertaining.  The pesto only takes a couple of minutes to prep.  As the pasta water boils and penne cooks, prep a green salad and an antipasto platter with some olives, Italian meats, and cheeses.  A very easy but tasty and elegant dinner for weeknight dinner guests.

Penne with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Giada de Laurentiis

• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, and basil in a food processor and blend until the tomatoes are finely chopped. Transfer the tomato mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan.

Add the pasta to the pesto and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 4.

Here is a healthy, vegetarian dinner option for those of you trying to keep to your New Year’s resolutions.

I was a little skeptical of this recipe but then I read the reviews on the Food Network site and they were all raves!  The sauce really comes together beautifully.  There is a great blend of flavors from the chard, tomatoes, olives, and pecorino.  I used a combo of red and green chard and bought a wedge of nice pecorino which I grated myself.

The pasta was delicious and quite healthy with the whole wheat spaghetti and plethora of leafy greens.  I’ll be making this dish again!

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Pecorino Cheese
Giada de Laurentiis

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 bunches Swiss chard, trimmed and chopped (about 14 cups)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper
• 8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino cheese
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the chard and saute until it wilts, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, wine, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down and the chard is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season the chard mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the spaghetti. Add the spaghetti to the chard mixture and toss to combine.

Transfer the pasta to serving bowls. Sprinkle the olives, cheese, and pine nuts and serve.